I'm so sad, dead chickens

[Sachasmom]

Something got into the grow out pen and made of with NINE of my young birds! I lost five Silkies (the good ones, of course) two RIR, and my Lavander Ameraucana Hen and the best split black!

It pried open the bottom of the gate and got in there. Never have I been more aware of my serious lack of building skills (and no one to help me, or lots of $$$ for better pens) Not sure what it was, but there was no sign of 8 of them, and one Silkie was just a pile of feathers, it looked like all the meat had been eaten out.

So, was it a fox? Coyote? Racoon? I feel terrible that it probably kept coming back for more, poor little Silkies. Looks like the chickens all stayed in the pen, even though they could have escaped thru the gate to hide someplace. I searched and searched, but didn't find anyone hiding.

Then I had to listen to my husband make remarks about how happy he was something killed them (He's a jerk, too bad something didn't make off with him instead!)

I locked up the surviving birds, hopefully whatever it was doesn't come back for the rest of the flock, or the rabbits. The chicken coop is way back on the edge of the property, and my husband is now refusing to mow back there, so lots of ground cover for predators now. I'm going to move all the chickens right up next to the house, right under his window, ha!

The gun is loaded, and I'm checking periodically for stuff. If I had a large trap, I would have baited it with Silkie remains, waaaaa!

 

[vnploveschickens]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your birds.

Its too bad your "hubby" isn't at least more sympathetic and doesn't want to help figure it out.

I hope you figure out what made off with them. Maybe get a motion dectector camera. Other people have, maybe do a search.

Don't be too hard on yourself. Take care of the others. Find and fix any holes in your coop, no matter how small. Too bad you can't move it away from the edge of your property.

Good Luck, take care of yourself and your babies. Keep us updated.

Val

 

[Snap62]

Sounds like a raccoon to me. Sorry about your chickens. Do you have any dogs outside?

Here's my deterence

These dogs are often placed inside the same enclosure as my chickens, or either patrol the yard.

No losses yet, but a few great saves at the eyes of my watchful friends

 

[chickens4me]

I am so sorry for your loss.

I hope you can catch what did that to your beautiful birds.

 

[Brandi_H]

Your husband made remarks that he was happy your birds were killed?? Sarcastic remarks, I hope...surely no one's husband would be that cruel. And is he no longer mowing that area just because the chickens are there and he wants ground cover for predators?? I'm just speechless at the thought of someone finding amusement in their spouse's anguish.
I'm so sorry for the loss of your little ones, and sorry that you have to put up with your husband treating the situation like that.

 

[SurprisingWoman]

Can you put another hinge on the bottom of the gate so it can't be pulled open?

I am really sorry for your loss. I would go and "pretend" to be a raccoon and try every way you can to get in your coop. Anything you can think of, so can they x 10.

Your "fixes" don't have to be professional or pretty, just effective. It's amazing the things we can find when we just walk around our yards looking at the scraps and things we have accumulated over the years. There are probably things laying around you can utilize.

Best of luck to you.

 

[baldie]

Awww, I am sooo sorry for your loss. I have lost one to a hawk and it was terrible. What happened to you is one of my worst fears! I am pretty sure that once they know they are there that they will come back so make sure the rest are locked up good.

 

[charmed one]

Sachasmom, I am so sorry! I had something get into my hen house last night and kill 2 of my hens. I am pretty sure it was a coon. They can get through some pretty small holes and this one pulled some of the siding off and crawled in. We have a live trap that we have caught several coons in. We bait it with can catfood. I usually don't like to kill them. I make my DH haul them far away. But this one has made me MAD!

If possible, I would move your babies closer to the house. Until you find what got them, it will be back for more. Is there anyone close to you that would let you borrow a live trap? Any BYC neighbors?

 

[Sachasmom]

Awww, thanks for the remarks guys.

I have a live trap I picked up at an auction, only it doesn't spring closed right (and its smaller too) one of the loose buns I cannot catch sits in it and mocks my inability to catch her!

And no, my husband wasn't being sarcastic, he really is that big of a jerk! The coop they are in now he put up last year, but only did the frame, since he decided to "punish" me for something and not finish it. I did the best I could with it, but it looks awfully sad (and as it turns out, not safe either) I couldn't afford heavy duty fencing or chicken wire(yet my husband spent hundereds of $$ to fence his garden so my chickens wouldn't eat it.... Maybe the gate should blow open?

), so I used the plastic fencing stuff and PVC poles I had around. Some of those chicks were going to be for sale, and help pay for the roof the coop needs, so its a double whammy, ya know? I've been growing stuff out for a big poultry auction.

I can put another latch on the gate, but really, anything that wanted in would have no problem getting in. If I had known how cheap the plastic stuff was going to be, and how unsafe, I wouldn't have bought it. Our local freecycle just never has good farm type stuff!

I lost two hens earlier this year to Hawks, but this is way worse. I feel especially bad about the Silkies, since they couldn't fly to get away, I think I will move the survivors up to the house to one of the large rabbit cages. A friend of mine is supposed to bring me some cages to trade for rabbit, I hate to cage the chickens. The pen up near the house already has Marans, and naturally, one of the hens is now broody! If I move the Maran Roo and his other two hens back to the other pen, will the other hen be bothered by Six silkies, a delaware, a wellie and two Ameraucanas making a sudden appearance in her pen?

I'm contemplating electric fencing, someone told me that the electric poulty fencing works pretty good. Can you use it on plastic I wonder?

 

[jadeflower999]

I'm so sorry! It sounds like a raccoon. Hope you get whatever it is! Can't believe your husband would say something like that He should be out there helping you!!